The police have arrested 15 suspects in Ondo and Plateau states over separate incidents involving attacks on police officers and other public servants, including a mob assault on a police station following the murder of a farmer.
In Ondo State, 14 suspects were arrested after an angry mob attacked the Ala Divisional Police Headquarters in Akure North Local Government Area, attempting to seize two suspects linked to the murder of a farmer, Rasheed Hassan.
Two police officers sustained gunshot injuries during the violence, while the suspects linked to the farmer’s murder were rescued by police operatives.
In Plateau State, the police arrested a 45-year-old man, Kabiru Kudi, over alleged criminal conspiracy, assault and obstruction of Vehicle Inspection Officers performing their duties in Jos.
The Ondo State Police Command said Hassan’s killing was reported a few days before the mob attack.
The farmer was found dead at General Camp in the Government Reserve Area.
The command’s spokesperson, Abayomi Jimoh, said police operatives visited the scene after receiving the report and recovered the body.
Preliminary investigations revealed deep cuts on the victim’s head and other parts of his body, while his personal belongings were reportedly missing.
Jimoh said detectives immediately began investigations to identify and arrest those responsible for the killing.
The situation escalated when the Ala Youth President reportedly apprehended two suspects in connection with the murder and attempted to take them to the police station.
According to the police spokesperson, an angry mob confronted the youth leader and demanded that the suspects be handed over for extrajudicial killing. To protect the suspects, the youth president sought refuge at the Ala Divisional Police Headquarters, but the mob pursued them and attacked the facility.
The crowd reportedly threw stones and other dangerous objects at the station while resisting efforts by police rescue teams to gain access to the area.
Jimoh said tactical and other rescue teams were deployed to restore order and successfully rescued the two suspects from the mob.
However, the patrol team conveying the suspects back to Akure came under attack, leaving two police officers with gunshot injuries allegedly caused by pellets fired from a pump-action firearm.
The injured officers were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Following the incident, the command arrested 14 suspects in connection with the attack on the police facility, officers and rescue team.
Jimoh said investigations were ongoing to establish the individual roles of those arrested and ensure that anyone found culpable was prosecuted.
He added that tactical teams had been deployed to the area to prevent further breakdown of law and order, noting that normalcy had returned while security monitoring continued.
The Commissioner of Police, Felix Ohagwu, condemned the attack, describing mob action and attempts to obstruct lawful police operations as unacceptable.
He warned that no individual or group had the right to take the law into their own hands, regardless of the gravity of an alleged crime.
In Plateau State, the police said Kudi’s arrest followed a petition from the state Ministry of Transportation over an incident involving Vehicle Inspection Officers.
The driver allegedly refused to stop and attempted to evade the officers at high speed, hitting one of them on the arm and causing a fracture.
He reportedly parked the vehicle in the middle of the road, alighted, and engaged the officers in a physical confrontation.
The police further alleged that the suspect mobilised a group of hoodlums who attacked the officers and damaged their operational vehicle, obstructing them in the discharge of their duties.
The command’s spokesperson, Alfred Alabo, said detectives began an investigation after receiving the complaint and, with the assistance of community members, arrested Kudi in Shendam Local Council before handing him over to the police for investigation.
Alabo said the Commissioner of Police, Ayodeji Faniyan, condemned violence against law enforcement officers carrying out their lawful duties.
Faniyan reiterated that no individual or group had the right to obstruct, assault, threaten or attack public servants performing their official responsibilities.
The command urged residents to remain law-abiding, comply with lawful instructions from security personnel and seek redress through appropriate legal channels when aggrieved.
It warned against mobilising hoodlums, engaging in mob action or destroying government property, stressing that such conduct could attract serious legal consequences.
Alabo added that Kudi had been charged to court for prosecution.